insatiableOne

I purchased vehicle in August, Sold as is...

Dealer bought it from is 200 miles away, with warranty still active. I was told you get free tire rotation & oil change? Stipulations for this?

My question is. Should I take it to the dealership? or an authorized dealer from the tire rack??

I could only imagine, maybe lost wheel weight? or bent rim? First would be better. Did notice when it was real cold I did not feel a vibration.

RocketDawg

You don't rotate the tires on a Vette because the fronts and backs are different sizes. You could conceivably rotate just side to side, but that reverses the rotation direction and even if the tires are not unidirectional, but only have an inside and outside, it's not really advisable to do that.

You can get the oil changed anywhere, and it's probably not worth it to drive 400 miles roundtrip just for a free oil change.

Did the vibration just start, or has it been doing it from the time you bought the car? Could be a wheel out of balance, bent rim, something in the drive train. Or could even be a bad tire.

Warship2k15

What he said👍

insatiableOne

You could dismount from & swap tire to other rim, right.

The vibration was there when I bought it. felt slight, just thought it was from sitting. Then when driving it home noticed it.
I agree a 400 mile trip is not worth going back, that is why I wanted some better advice.

Don-Vette

Have the wheels road force balanced. Then go from there.

Welker1

insatiableOne

I had to look that up, as never used one of those balance machines.
I used to static balance most of my performance wheels.

Take to tire shop then Don? I imagine it would be cheaper than dealership.

Don-Vette

Call some shops, not everyone has the Hunter road force balance machine. I know most Firestone stores do.

insatiableOne

Alright thank you.

Walt White Coupe

I used to static balance most of my performance wheels.


You must be an old timer.

insatiableOne

Only by a little bit.

HOXXOH

When you get a chance, fill out more info in your profile, so other members don't have to ask questions like, year, model, trans, options, mods, etc, every time you post a question where additional information is required.

So now, what year, model, and mileage are on the car?

RagTop69

So, have you talked to the dealer about the vibration to find out what they are willing to do? You said it was an as is sale, but you also said "warranty still active", so I'm guessing that you could take it to a more convenient dealer to have the problem assessed. Since it occurs around 80 mph but not at other speeds, I'm led to believe it is a wheel balance issue. However, it could be a bad universal joint as well. Take it to a tire professional for a wheel balance and, if that doesn't do the trick, take it to a local dealer under warranty.

I had a similar problem with my '69 Mustang. I swapped out the original rear end for a set of 3.55s. It began to vibrate at speeds over 70 mph after that install. Of course I kept asking myself if I'd somehow gotten the drive shaft in 180* out, but never did anything about it. I finally took it to a local mechanic and, after he had "fixed" the problem about three different times (never test drove the car at or over 70 mph after those fixes), he sent the drive shaft out to be balanced. Turns out that it was out of balance from the day it left the factory in 1968, but with the original 2.79 gears it rarely ever saw the rpm range that exposed the balance problem. With the 3.55s it would get there at about 70 mph in 3rd gear.

insatiableOne

2009 1LT maybe 14,000 miles now. Have three left years on warranty.

I haven't talked to a local dealer yet. Never had this type of issue, as I always had access to a Master certified custom shop. Worked on everything myself, or one of my buddies would step in for serious issues.

That is what this is sort of doing, vibration starts at just over 76-77 mph, I don't think it is wise to push it any faster to find out if it goes away at 120.

I'm going to call one Firestone shop in the morning to make an appointment. There is only one in town that has it other than some dealerships.

HOXXOH

Since you're not the original owner, there is a possibility of unknown damage. If involved in a collision, it could include suspension or frame problems. Just smacking a curb can cause alignment issues or wheel bearing damage. Any of that can create vibrations at the speeds you indicate. However, the vibrations also exist at lower speeds, but are dampened more and harder to feel. An oscillating vibration, rather than constant, is usually traced to one of the above problems.
Most tire/wheel balance problems create constant vibrations in the 60-70 range and then smooth out until 120+.
With only 14K miles it's unlikely that anything is worn out.

Before spending any $ for anything else, I'd jack it up and check for bent wheels, bad wheel bearings, and out of round tires.
Wheel bearing play measured at the top of the stud on the bolt circle is .005" maximum, although I'd personally replace at .002. Wheel runout measured at the rim is .050 maximum, and again I'd have a .010 limitation. Maybe I'm a little fussy, but at 125-130 mph at the end of the 1/4 mile or the occasional 150-180 on a road course, I don't want small vibrations at lower speeds to become a big problem. If everything is in spec there, try swapping wheels with a friend who has no problems.

Chances are that you'll have to do your own road tests, since the liability (insurance) issues have limited mechanic's testing to the local speed limits. Some places may allow you to drive while they ride along for testing.

Dealers were required to have "chassis ears" (an electronic/computer tool) for vibration testing, but after checking 5 dealers in the Phoenix area, I found that they had broken them or lost parts while testing and never acquired replacements. If you can't resolve the problem with other methods, search out dealers until you find one with that equipment and who knows how to use it.

Good luck and report back with your findings/results/conclusions, so it'll build the information database.

insatiableOne

I made an appointment with Firestone. Only one location (other than on the DMAF base). Located at

Will Know Monday, unofficial quote $65.00 for all four wheels.

Carfax report was clean. so no reported collision. Not the original tires,they took off runflats.



Firestone #025259
290 W Wetmore Rd
TUCSON, AZ 85705
Phone: 520-888-1165
Approx. 13 miles from your location.

HOXXOH

Consider joining ACE and post to find members in Tucson who can do a wheel swap test this weekend. Lots more info there too.
http://www.arizonacorvetteenthusiasts.net/

4SUMERZ

I have always had new tires done with the RF balancer in the past.
I had new tires put on awhile back that didn't have the RF balancer, so it was done on a static machine. My car would start vibrating at about the same speed (80 mph). I made an appointment with a tire installer that had a Road Force Balancer, and that solved all the vibration issues.

I learned a valuable lesson. Never get Corvette Performance tires balanced with anything other than a RF balancer. Period!

Walt White Coupe

Vibration at 80 mph is almost always an out of balance wheel. And if you take it above 80 the vibration will gradually reduce.

billyboy47

Had that done today and my car still has bad vibration at around 60 mph. The tech said the wheels look good on the machine but when mounted on car it sucks big time. Never had that problem with the Oem wheels. What gives?